With the growth of ignorance and hostility to science the competitiveness of Italian industry also suffers
“How is the night?”
“Clear.”
These are the last lines in Bertolt Brecht’s Vita di Galileo (Life of Galileo): The scientist has just submitted to the impositions of the doctors of the Church and renounced his discoveries about the centrality of the Sun and the movement of the Earth as a planet. And he sits sadly in a corner of his study. Yet, even though humiliated, he does not submit to silence and ignorance. And to the disciple who questions him, he speaks of a “clear night”, reaffirming the power of science, the beauty of research, the need for knowledge and the importance of a truth to be verified, discussed and tested. There is always a sky to continue exploring.
The words of Brecht’s Galileo and his indomitable passion for knowledge come to mind when reading the reports on the latest OECD Piaac survey on the education and skills of adults (aged 16 to 65) in 31 countries of the organisation (La Stampa and Il Sole24Ore, 11 December), which unfortunately show that Italy is at the bottom of the list in terms of literacy, numeracy and the ability to solve slightly complex problems. At the top of the ranking are Japan, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Denmark.
The situation in Italy, the OECD points out, is worse than it was ten years ago. And cognitive deficiencies are particularly prevalent among people aged between 54 and 65. Regional disparities are also significant: the north and centre are in line with the OECD average, while the south is struggling.
“Italy’s illiterates,” was the brutal headline in La Stampa. And Viola Ardone, a successful teacher and writer, adds: “We no longer understand what we read, because the trend of “parla come mangi” (literally, speak as you eat, or speak without fuss) prevails, the sloppiness of an impoverished and vulgarised everyday language and the subculture of the “simple”, which discards anything that seems “complex”. “Functional illiterates”, comments Paolo Di Paolo (la Repubblica, 11 December), adding that “a citizen who has difficulty reading a text of average complexity … does not fully enjoy their rights and may not even be aware of them. They run the risk of remaining, and often remain, on the margins of participation in democratic life. They expose themselves, almost defenceless, to those who want to crush them, to cheat them, to flatter them, to turn them into lazy and apathetic consumers. They end up being swallowed up by the most toxic propaganda, both commercial and political.”
A political and social disaster, in short. But it is also a negative condition from an economic point of view: low levels of knowledge and skills correspond to low wages, poor employment, low levels of financial literacy (the ability to take out a mortgage or loan responsibly and to decide on one’s savings), inadequate ability to deal with bureaucratic and tax procedures or to understand the consequences of political and governmental decisions on many aspects of one’s life as a citizen, worker, consumer.
And this is nothing new, unfortunately. Ten years ago, the great linguist Tullio De Mauro was already warning of the phenomenon of adult illiteracy, but no one in politics or government was willing to tackle the problem. The 2021 Censis Report spoke of a “cultural regression”. And again, Censis, in its 2025 report a few days ago, documented how many Italians know very little about Manzoni and Mazzini, are “trapped in mediocrity” (and therefore also in ignorance) and are almost digitally illiterate.
The roots of this condition are well known: the deterioration and decline of schools, the almost total disappearance of traditional “educational agencies” (in the 1960s and 1970s they included political parties, trade unions, parishes, associations and social organisations), the tendency not to read (only one Italian in two picks up a book at least once a year), the growing habit of seeking information quickly and therefore poorly, only through social media and television (newspaper sales are constantly declining and the government shows no interest in supporting the processes of technological modernisation and qualitative improvement of newspaper publishing).
It is the season of ignorance, “the ignorance of those who know everything“, comments Aldo Grasso ironically in the Corriere della Sera (15 December). An ignorance, moreover, that is displayed, asserted and shamelessly opposed to those who bring their skills and knowledge to bear. The infamous exchange between a 5-Star Movement MP and Pier Carlo Padoan comes to mind. When Padoan, one of the world’s leading economists, an expert in using scientific analysis and data to discuss economic development and government policy, tried to explain how the spread affected mortgage rates, the junior parliamentarian insinuated that he was lying and responded aggressively: “So you say!”
And this is how public discourse suffers. It becomes increasingly impoverished and trivialised. This is detrimental to the quality of democracy itself, which is based on the ability of citizens to make informed critical judgements, to express opinions based not on instinct, fear or the distortions of propaganda, but on awareness of problems and discussion of possible solutions.
In short, liberal democracy cannot do without good schools and the dissemination of knowledge, which are indispensable both for conscious citizenship and responsible participation, and for scientific research and progress. Any authoritarian regime, on the other hand, views quality education, independent information, critical thinking and even the freedom of scientific research with suspicion, if not outright hostility. The lesson of Isaiah Berlin, Jurgen Habermas, Karl Popper and Norberto Bobbio is very clear and still very relevant. The better Europe we believe in depends on understanding this.
There is a second aspect worth emphasising. That is, the negative consequences of growing ignorance and the anti-scientific subculture on Italy’s competitiveness.
Indeed, in the age of the primacy of the “knowledge economy”, the management of the environmental and digital transition and the productive use of artificial intelligence call for an increasingly sophisticated set of multidisciplinary skills, long-term training that goes well beyond traditional school and university pathways.
The capacity for creativity that we have historically used to compensate for educational deficits is no longer sufficient. A solid corporate culture that can meet the challenges of international competition must be “polytechnic”, open, dynamic and constantly evolving. Productivity, especially in advanced manufacturing and high-tech services, can only be guaranteed by a high level of culture, not only technical but also humanistic in the broadest sense. The Italian situation is therefore particularly worrying, with a low number of graduates and high rates of the “functional illiteracy” we have just discussed.
There is one other point to consider. Even the proud attitude of “knowing how to do things”, so dear to entrepreneurs, must be accompanied by a commitment to “making known”, to building a new and better story of entrepreneurship, industry and work.
So, invest in training and knowledge. This is the fundamental need that needs to be addressed. This is how the NRRP funds should have been used. Only at the end of the spending process will we see how much has been invested in schools, universities, training, knowledge, digital transformation and artificial intelligence, innovation, and with what results. Today, of course, there is still concern about the growing ignorance, the low productivity of the Italian system as a whole, the crisis of competitiveness in relation to international competitors.
And the night of knowledge, science and development is unfortunately in danger of no longer being “clear”.
(Photo: Getty Images)
“How is the night?”
“Clear.”
These are the last lines in Bertolt Brecht’s Vita di Galileo (Life of Galileo): The scientist has just submitted to the impositions of the doctors of the Church and renounced his discoveries about the centrality of the Sun and the movement of the Earth as a planet. And he sits sadly in a corner of his study. Yet, even though humiliated, he does not submit to silence and ignorance. And to the disciple who questions him, he speaks of a “clear night”, reaffirming the power of science, the beauty of research, the need for knowledge and the importance of a truth to be verified, discussed and tested. There is always a sky to continue exploring.
The words of Brecht’s Galileo and his indomitable passion for knowledge come to mind when reading the reports on the latest OECD Piaac survey on the education and skills of adults (aged 16 to 65) in 31 countries of the organisation (La Stampa and Il Sole24Ore, 11 December), which unfortunately show that Italy is at the bottom of the list in terms of literacy, numeracy and the ability to solve slightly complex problems. At the top of the ranking are Japan, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Denmark.
The situation in Italy, the OECD points out, is worse than it was ten years ago. And cognitive deficiencies are particularly prevalent among people aged between 54 and 65. Regional disparities are also significant: the north and centre are in line with the OECD average, while the south is struggling.
“Italy’s illiterates,” was the brutal headline in La Stampa. And Viola Ardone, a successful teacher and writer, adds: “We no longer understand what we read, because the trend of “parla come mangi” (literally, speak as you eat, or speak without fuss) prevails, the sloppiness of an impoverished and vulgarised everyday language and the subculture of the “simple”, which discards anything that seems “complex”. “Functional illiterates”, comments Paolo Di Paolo (la Repubblica, 11 December), adding that “a citizen who has difficulty reading a text of average complexity … does not fully enjoy their rights and may not even be aware of them. They run the risk of remaining, and often remain, on the margins of participation in democratic life. They expose themselves, almost defenceless, to those who want to crush them, to cheat them, to flatter them, to turn them into lazy and apathetic consumers. They end up being swallowed up by the most toxic propaganda, both commercial and political.”
A political and social disaster, in short. But it is also a negative condition from an economic point of view: low levels of knowledge and skills correspond to low wages, poor employment, low levels of financial literacy (the ability to take out a mortgage or loan responsibly and to decide on one’s savings), inadequate ability to deal with bureaucratic and tax procedures or to understand the consequences of political and governmental decisions on many aspects of one’s life as a citizen, worker, consumer.
And this is nothing new, unfortunately. Ten years ago, the great linguist Tullio De Mauro was already warning of the phenomenon of adult illiteracy, but no one in politics or government was willing to tackle the problem. The 2021 Censis Report spoke of a “cultural regression”. And again, Censis, in its 2025 report a few days ago, documented how many Italians know very little about Manzoni and Mazzini, are “trapped in mediocrity” (and therefore also in ignorance) and are almost digitally illiterate.
The roots of this condition are well known: the deterioration and decline of schools, the almost total disappearance of traditional “educational agencies” (in the 1960s and 1970s they included political parties, trade unions, parishes, associations and social organisations), the tendency not to read (only one Italian in two picks up a book at least once a year), the growing habit of seeking information quickly and therefore poorly, only through social media and television (newspaper sales are constantly declining and the government shows no interest in supporting the processes of technological modernisation and qualitative improvement of newspaper publishing).
It is the season of ignorance, “the ignorance of those who know everything“, comments Aldo Grasso ironically in the Corriere della Sera (15 December). An ignorance, moreover, that is displayed, asserted and shamelessly opposed to those who bring their skills and knowledge to bear. The infamous exchange between a 5-Star Movement MP and Pier Carlo Padoan comes to mind. When Padoan, one of the world’s leading economists, an expert in using scientific analysis and data to discuss economic development and government policy, tried to explain how the spread affected mortgage rates, the junior parliamentarian insinuated that he was lying and responded aggressively: “So you say!”
And this is how public discourse suffers. It becomes increasingly impoverished and trivialised. This is detrimental to the quality of democracy itself, which is based on the ability of citizens to make informed critical judgements, to express opinions based not on instinct, fear or the distortions of propaganda, but on awareness of problems and discussion of possible solutions.
In short, liberal democracy cannot do without good schools and the dissemination of knowledge, which are indispensable both for conscious citizenship and responsible participation, and for scientific research and progress. Any authoritarian regime, on the other hand, views quality education, independent information, critical thinking and even the freedom of scientific research with suspicion, if not outright hostility. The lesson of Isaiah Berlin, Jurgen Habermas, Karl Popper and Norberto Bobbio is very clear and still very relevant. The better Europe we believe in depends on understanding this.
There is a second aspect worth emphasising. That is, the negative consequences of growing ignorance and the anti-scientific subculture on Italy’s competitiveness.
Indeed, in the age of the primacy of the “knowledge economy”, the management of the environmental and digital transition and the productive use of artificial intelligence call for an increasingly sophisticated set of multidisciplinary skills, long-term training that goes well beyond traditional school and university pathways.
The capacity for creativity that we have historically used to compensate for educational deficits is no longer sufficient. A solid corporate culture that can meet the challenges of international competition must be “polytechnic”, open, dynamic and constantly evolving. Productivity, especially in advanced manufacturing and high-tech services, can only be guaranteed by a high level of culture, not only technical but also humanistic in the broadest sense. The Italian situation is therefore particularly worrying, with a low number of graduates and high rates of the “functional illiteracy” we have just discussed.
There is one other point to consider. Even the proud attitude of “knowing how to do things”, so dear to entrepreneurs, must be accompanied by a commitment to “making known”, to building a new and better story of entrepreneurship, industry and work.
So, invest in training and knowledge. This is the fundamental need that needs to be addressed. This is how the NRRP funds should have been used. Only at the end of the spending process will we see how much has been invested in schools, universities, training, knowledge, digital transformation and artificial intelligence, innovation, and with what results. Today, of course, there is still concern about the growing ignorance, the low productivity of the Italian system as a whole, the crisis of competitiveness in relation to international competitors.
And the night of knowledge, science and development is unfortunately in danger of no longer being “clear”.
(Photo: Getty Images)